‘Palace will let Zaha leave… if the price is right’

CRYSTAL PALACE will allow Wilfried Zaha to leave but only if their valuation of the talismanic forward is matched.

Former Palace striker Mark Bright, now academy coach and a close friend of chairman Steve Parish, said Zaha would leave with the club’s blessing as long as they received a ‘fair price’.

Zaha is desperate to go after failing to move in the summer and has even taken legal action against his agent, alleging his representatives are too close to Parish. Palace were angered by Arsenal’s £40million offer — half the asking price — and also rejected a £52m bid from Everton, which led to the 26-year-old submitting a transfer request in August.

‘If one of the big clubs comes knocking, it is difficult to hold them back but what the club says, and what every club should say, is that we want a fair price for the player,’ Bright told the Mail on Sunday. ‘Steve has quite rightly said that if Wilf wants to go, then we won’t stand in his way. But the club who are buying cannot put in an offer of half of what you rate him. Arsenal put in an offer for less than what the youngster went for when this lad is matured and is better now. ‘When he went to Manchester United he probably wasn’t ready. He is ready now. If someone wants him, come up with a good offer and Steve won’t stop him. He would go with the club’s blessing.

‘He started off the season a little slow, which was understandable, but from what I have seen in training and around the place, his attitude has been great. The fans love him, the players do. We all do. He is an exceptional talent.’

Bright knows how it feels to see a Palace star plucked by one of the big boys. His former strike partner Ian Wright was signed by Arsenal in 1991 and went on to score 185 goals for the Gunners and helped them lift the Premier League title.

He believes Zaha can have just as great an impact at the highest level but has urged the forward to be careful about where he might go.

‘Wilf is someone who has got to play all the time,’ said Bright. ‘He would have to chose the right club. I have seen some great players in my time. Chris Waddle was a genius, outstanding ability, but Wilf can just do things I don’t think any other player can do.’